THE STEREOTYPES OF TOMORROW

6LA8, one of the most prolific bands I've found, surprises me yet again with this truly amazing record, The Stereotypes of Tomorrow, an album that blends their already blended sound of their previous efforts creating one of the best records this year. Possibly even better than their In the Land of Dreams.

It's been downright hard for me to resist playing this album over and over as with each listen I find out just how deep this record is, finding new layers and details each time, every one surprising and enjoyable. The utilize their drone background but add in some electronica, some dub-step, some GY!BE-esque post-rock, some ambient and even some jazz. With a diversity this great, it's surprising to learn that what really makes the record worth listening is the great contradiction that fact has with the album ultimately being very dark and almost soulless. Density equals barrenness with this album and it's amazing, it truly is.

I recommend you go out and download this immediately, it's name-your-price on bandcamp but worth way much more than that. It's a record to just lay back and analyze and most of all zone out and enjoy. Please don't hesitate in giving it a taste.

It won't matter, trust me

You know that feeling when it's just before midnight, and you're really tired, yet everything around you seems so vividly beautiful? Although I detest this cliche myself, I would think that the word beautiful fits this music perfectly. The music made by 6LA8 could best be described as experimental ambient post-rock. This album, however, has far more electronic elements and not as many traces of post rock. Now, on to the music.

To listen to this music, I would suggest going into a completely dark room, and turn on one very small light. Turn the music on, and focus on this small light, and let the music take you away, because although the music is quiet and minimalist in nature, its full attention is required for one of the most rewarding experiences you will have in music. This is the kind of music for when the party is just ending, you're going home, and it's already dark outside. Really dark. In fact, I think that I would call this nocturnal music, because it can have it best effect on the listener at night. Yet, in this darkness, the stars shine so bright, and form a blanket across the sky, eliminating that lonely feeling, because even though no people surround you, you know that something is there, protecting and comforting you. I feel that the music has this effect, because although there are no real lyrics (however, there are spoken samples), the listener can feel a presence.

The first song is very post-rocky in nature and begins with a guitar line that repeats over and over to become part of the structure of the opening. Electronic instruments slowly build up behind this, and the song becomes full blown and a recorded voice is added in. Once the song reaches its peak, it dies down ad slowly makes its exit. If I were to use the metaphor I explained earlier, this would be the party (or the end of it), and the outro would perhaps serve as the beginning of a journey home.

Karachi Nights takes you across electronic soundscapes, making twists and turns into jazz and again, post rock. It is very energetic in nature, yet also quite tame and it seems to be somewhat of a jam.

An Honest Man's Memoirs is slower with synths and the guitar in the background letting the spoken word guide the music, which works very well and is done through many of 6LA8's songs.

Coffee Break's title describes the song very well, as it is a short interlude from the 10+ minute songs bookending it. It is a nice time to breathe and not focus on the music as much as your energy.

Dance to Forget is my favorite song off of this album. It begins slowly with a trance-like feel, and then a robotic voice begins to speak. I believe that 6LA8 chose to use a robot was for irony, since the robot is conveying much emotion. While the narrator is expressing himself, the music builds, and there are some dubstep-esque sounds thrown in. After the narrator finishes, a female voice repeats a few lines for the rest of the song, and it builds up in such a way that it is almost magical.

Morphine Candy, Anyone? is a another "break" track that, in my opinion, does not really do much. It begins by building tension, which keeps the listener listening, yet it just doesn't go anywhere. I wouldn't say this is bad though, just not as great as the other songs.

We're Floating... Not Swimming is what I would call a very successful interlude. It begins slow and calmly, yet the sound keeps on building, and at one point keyboards start to move in the same way water does when you pour it over wax. Overall, this song is very relaxing and rewarding.

Now, I could go into detail about the rest of the songs myself, or I could let you hear them for yourself. You can keep your Thick as a Brick and your Close to the Edge, because this album is just wonderful and enjoyable for anyone who is open-minded enough to listen. Time for your journey to begin, but are you ready?

I went into 6LA8 expecting modern progressive electronic, maybe in even in the vein of the lengthy dance-inspired selections that have become popular lately. Unfortunately, I got a nearly 2 hour album of electronic post-rock.

The Stereotypes of Tomorrow is music that is extremely similar to groups like 65daysofstatic and God is an Astronaut, which is essentially post-rock with various electronic music additions. The formula for success is here: lengthy tracks, electronic ambiance, glorious crescendos, and the occasional looped guitar a la Gottsching. The main annoyances are the arbitrary spoken word samples that plague this album throughout its unjustifiably 2 hour long runtime (it's an obnoxiously long album), which brings the entire listening experience down hard.

Anyway, as I've mentioned, The Stereotypes of Tomorrow is an electronic post-rock album, but the first song, "Old Cassettes" is the only obvious post-rock track on the album and features the cliche post-rock quiet-to-loud dynamic that everyone has heard a million times by now since the mid-'90s. The following tracks, however, are much closer to the type of electronic music that I was expecting, ranging from hard-edged progressive techno, slightly glitchy ambiance, and thick electronically treated guitar playing. Still, it feels to me like 6LA8 is trying to match their contemporaries too closely. The way the vocal samples in "Dance to Forget" interact with the bass line make the track sound like a failed attempt at a lengthy rip-off of Boards of Canada's trademark sound.

There are a couple of standouts on this album which is fortunate considering (and I can't stress this enough) this album is 2 hours long. "Kirachi Nights [Mix A]" is a particularly aggressive densely electronic track that I guess wouldn't be too hard to dance to, and is somewhat similar to what F**k Buttons have done on Tarot Sport. "Morphine Candy, Anyone?" is one of the shorter tracks and sounds the most experimental, consisting of atonal distant guitar floating atop of perpetual clicking of a metronome and constant radio waves. "We're Floating... Not Swimming" and "For What it's Worth" are decent forays into spacey ambient techno but don't seem considerably interesting and the latter is plagued by the randomly selected spoken word articles. "Specific Spectacles [Mix B]" is one of the better selections, again being mostly ambient techno somewhat identical to something that could be found on an Aphex Twin B-side collection (which I have to admit is a sturdy compliment).

The Stereotypes of Tomorrow is not a bad album, and is undeniably progressive, and though it is labelled under my favorite genre on this site that apparently does not mean it will appeal to me greatly. I would however suggest this without hesitation to the many fans of post-rock in the vein of God is an Astronaut of 65daysofstatic, or even the post-post-rock electronic groups like F**k Buttons. Just be aware that this album, like 6LA8's other albums, are abound with arbitrary spoken word samples that clutter an otherwise decent album. The potential is here, but the fulfillment of the promise of a delightful album wasn't quite delivered.

6LA8 is a group from Pakistan who, on this album anyway, combine Berlin School electronics, IDM and GYBE style post rock. This is the only album I have so far heard from them. There are no actual Pakistani or South Asian influences in the music at all; in fact, you would never think they were from that part of the world unless someone told you. This is a long album which is also a 'name your price' download on Bandcamp. There are a few vocal samples (all in American accents) that remind me of early GYBE. Overall the sound and production is very good.

This all begins with the first track called "Old Cassettes." The title is significant because South Asia is the only place in the world where cassettes are still popular. It opens in an easy-going, mellow post-rock vibe. After a full band is playing and the music is rocking harder, a vocal sample begins; this sounds like some kind of sermon. This is what I expected the last GYBE album to sound like come to think of it. The music calms down again and gets more electronic and ambient.

"Karachi Nights [Mix A]" features some guests. Now we are in Aphex Twin IDM style territory. Very fast-paced and complex electronica. At one point you hear a sample from a musical number in what I believe is a Bollywood film. Now, it could be a Pakistani film but since there are no other traces of Pakistan here I'm just going to assume it's a Bollywood flick being sampled. Later on some sax playing and percussion. Some modified singing in I don't know what language as the music becomes more eerie and ambient.

"An Honest Man's Memoirs" is an interesting mix of IDM and post rock. A man tells a tale. A nice mellow atmosphere which benefits the tale being told. GYBE style post rock for the last few minutes. Some electronic beats get added which works well. "Dance To Forget" starts out all ambient and spacey before a male computer voice appears. Then a beat which sounds vaguely like a lot of 1990s electronic dance music. Sounds like a cross between The Orb's ambient house and more mainstream club-oriented dance msuic. A female computer voice later gets repeated.

"We're Floating...Not swimming" features some guests. This opens in a ambient yet mysterious mood. This already sounds like Boards Of Canada but even more so when the trip- hop beat enters the picture. The best Boards Of Canada track that duo never made. (6LA8 are also a duo apparently). "Eroded Signals" gets back to the post rock guitars. Some Berlin School electronics over the guitars as a preacher starts talking about sports. Some bluesy guitar quasi-soloing as well. A melody on synth.

The music builds up and then calms back down again. The synth melody returns along with more synths and pounding drums. Some post rock guitar 'soloing'. Cool wah-wah guitar near the end. Finishes with some more Berlin School style electronics. "For What It's Worth" opens very ambient and electronic. Tangerine Dream/Klaus Schulze style sequencer patterns appear and dominate the track. I like the added effects here: like something smacked and you hear it echo, as well as the sound of a coin spinning and bird noises. Eventually you hear a humourous conversation taken from some movie or TV show.

"Specific Spectacles [Mix B]" is a very electronic track that sounds similar to Aphex Twin (and other projects of Richard D. James). Even though this is almost 20 minutes long, it's not an epic in the traditional sense. This is rhythmic electronic music which is very repetative and slow moving. Some cool jazzy quasi-soloing on synth at points. Overall a nice release. Maybe a bit too long and not the most consistent thing on Earth. For those who enjoy Aphex Twin and Tangerine Dream as much as they like Godspeed You Black Emperor. This gets a 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.